kids

My children are getting to an age where they are very interested in sewing and now have the ability to complete some easy projects on their own. I’ve been reading and asking my friends how I should start with my kids and what resources there are available for young children.

My oldest daughter, Cassie, is 8 and my youngest, Kim, is 6. I’ve been doing some crafts with Cassie for a few years now, but think she is ready to start using my sewing machine. I’ve held off on it so far because I’ve been nervous about it, but I think with my supervision I think she is ready.

I didn’t want her to use my expensive Janome computerized sewing machine as it might be too complicated and intimidating so I wanted to find a simple and inexpensive sewing machine that she would be able to use. I settled on the Janome New Home sewing machine. It is small, light, looks cute and has all of the features she needs to sew almost anything. I found this machine by going to www.bestsewingmachineforkids.com and reading what they recommend. It is a nice simple site with some good reviews.

Once we got the sewing machine I spent the weekend setting it up and showing her how to use it. We then practiced some simple sewing techniques and she had a great time. I was surprised how quickly she took to it and we were ready to start creating some simple sewing projects.

The first one we did was a small pillow for her dolly. We went to the fabric store and picked out some cute fabric and went home and proceed to create 3 pillows. One for her, me and her best friend. They turned out great and she was super excited to learn more. I wanted to keep the excitement going and I didn’t have enough “cool” kids projects in my memory to show her so I ended up getting her a great book: Sewing School: 21 Sewing Projects Kids Will Love to Make.

We’ve been working through the book over the last several days and her skills have been growing exponentially. I have a feeling we will be through this book in no time.

At the same time, my youngest, now wants to learn sewing. She has even started to use the Janome New Home sewing machine with the help of her sister. There is a finger guard on this model so there isn’t a danger of her getting hurt. With Cassie’s help she was able to make a pillow too and she carries it everywhere with her.

It has been a fun couple of weeks and I look forward to seeing what they will be making a month from now. I’ve already been eyeing up some new sewing books to keep them occupied. I’ll share their progress as the year goes on.